


Percy Jackson: V2

by thebestofall



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: BAMF Percy Jackson, F/M, Gen, Will add other tags later as story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:54:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27722413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebestofall/pseuds/thebestofall
Summary: Sally Jackson did not survive after giving birth to her son. But in her final breath, she begs for a particular goddess to take care of him. Although Poseidon was apprehensive of this goddess, it was Sally's final wish. And so it came to be that the most unlikeliest of goddesses would raise Percy Jackson. For a war is coming, and he might just be their secret weapon.(This is not a what if scenario because I'm not just changing one thing but a lot of things. This is more of an AU. No OCs or anything like that and the general lore is all the same, the camps are kind of the same. Just a few other changes here and there. So this is not a butterfly effect kind of fic or something. This is a redo of the PJO series in my vision.)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 65





	1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Every story has a beginning and every hero has an origin. This hero was not to be. A single choice, a single moment had brought him to life.

Sally Jackson was a brunette woman of barely twenty four years of age. Her short life had been filled with misery. Both her grandparents lost their lives after their airplane ran into a freak thunderstorm. The lightning shredded the airplane apart and there were no survivors as all the passengers were either fried or fell to their deaths.

Her own parents lost their lives painfully as well, with her mother killed in the September 11 terror attacks. Though not in the building itself, the falling debris had killed people as much as a whole block away, her mother being one of them.

She supported her father, who rarely had ever supported her. He had quickly fallen to a deadly lung cancer, something Sally saw coming. Her father had turned to numbing his mind with tobacco, alcohol and drugs after his wife, Sally’s mother had gotten killed. Though never abusive to his daughter, they hardly got along.

Still, as his daughter, Sally Jackson supported him as best as she could. She had been forced to quit her college, which was the prestigious University of California-Los Angeles, where she had barely completed two years in political science. UCLA was too far from her father, and she needed to work to support her father, so the young girl gave up her dreams and for the next few years she worked odd jobs to scrounge up cash, all the while writing her own novels at the side, though they never did quite hit the bestseller list.

Sadly, good things rarely ever happen in life. Two years after Sally had quit her college and decided to support her father, her father lost his battle against cancer. Sally was the only one at his funeral.

Loneliness is one of the worst things imaginable a human being can suffer. Sally Jackson was alone. She had left her life and dreams behind, only for her father to die anyway, and now she was old enough that colleges did not accept her anymore. She turned to writing, only to be stifled by editors and publishers, who wanted to impose on her vision.

It was when all was seemingly lost that _he_ had appeared. Sally had visited that nearly empty beach. Montauk. Rarely was it filled with people, even in the summer. And in the winter it was definitely abandoned. There were better places in Manhattan to spend your time, but Sally always visited this beach. Because of _him_.

It had not taken long for her to find out who _he_ was. She could scarcely believe it. Poseidon. Lord of the Seas. An actual living breathing god. The idea was so absolutely ludicrous and impossible, but she had the undeniable proof in front of her. He was definitely a god, metaphorically and literally.

Were she to recount her life, Sally could say without a shadow of a doubt that Poseidon had been the best thing that had happened to her life. Like a glowing fish in the deep dark seas that was her life.

Now, nine months later, Sally Jackson was back again at Montauk. She had always known it wouldn’t last forever. He was a god, and he had a wife. It was wrong, but still …

Poseidon was clothed in traditional Atlantean armor with his bronze trident at his side. A powerful weapon, possibly the only known object in existence that could match the master bolt. The other would have been his own father’s scythe, but that was in safe hands.

The sea god stared at his lover. He shook his head slightly. He shouldn’t call her that. He was retreating back to Atlantis, and it wouldn’t do good for Amphitrite to find out. He couldn’t help it though. Sally Jackson was beautiful. Very much so. She might have been a nymph in her previous life, which would explain why he was so drawn to her. He had noticed her in the first place due to her frequent presence at this Montauk beach, which he was sure mortals rarely visited.

The sea god smiled sadly at his lover’s downcast face. “I am sorry, my love. I have placed a great burden on you.”

“Don’t.”, Sally trembled, placing a hand on her stomach. “Don’t say that.”

Poseidon stepped closer. His trident and gauntlets vanished in a flash of gold and he held her sides gently. “You know what will happen. My son … he will be in danger. _He_ will be a danger. To himself, to you as well. And the prophecy …”

“You said it yourself Poseidon, that prophecies can’t be predicted like that. If anything can happen, then our son might not even be the child of the prophecy.”

Poseidon chuckled, but the humor did not reach his eyes. “It is doubtful, Sally. You may not be able to tell, but our son is strong.”

Sally smiled as well. She was not one to appreciate these things, but it made her feel good. _Her son_ was going to be powerful. At least that was there. Her whole life had been a mess, but her son. Her son would right those things.

Her son … who was …

“Aaah!”, Sally cried out. She fell limp like a sack of potatoes, but Poseidon caught her in a flash.

“Sally! What’s wrong?!”, Poseidon shouted. The sea god’s eyes were wide and panicked. Sally had been completely fine. All of a sudden, what had happened?

“T-The baby!”, Sally gasped.

“Now?!”, Poseidon exclaimed. The sea god stared at her stomach, looking at his child. “You have the worst timing, you know that.”

“What?!”, Sally exclaimed as she moaned in pain. She couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth.

“Not you. Him.”, Poseidon said, pointing at her stomach. With a snap of his fingers, a bed flashed into existence, and the sea god placed his lover gently onto the bed.

Sally’s back arched as a flare of pain went through her body. She was not even able to form coherent thoughts as the pain went past the threshold of what she could bear. The pain was unbearable and unimaginable. She had never felt such pain in her entire life. But at the same time, almost subconsciously, she knew this was just a moment. Soon, it would all be worth it. Her son, her child would be born. And though Poseidon could not be there for him, she would be. She would be the best mother a child could ask for. Images flashed through her eyes. A child, raven haired and green eyed. A cute frown had settled onto his face as he tried to reach for the toy sailboat in her hand. More such images flashed through her mind, almost easing the pain, distracting her mind.

But one image caused her body to arch in pain once more, sending her into greater pains than ever before. It was Manhattan. Ruined and desolated and void of life. Even though the sun was visible and shining, the skies were black as the night, and the rain seemed to scorch and steam the surface rather than cool. Lightning flashed soundlessly through the skies. Only one figure stood against the darkness. Not Poseidon. He was too young. A shadow of a beard marked his face, and his raven hair loosely reached his neck. Lightning flashed, and the figure turned around, showing sea green eyes.

Next to her, Poseidon, the almighty lord of the seas, panicked and paced around. “Come on Sally.”, he held her hand, and though she had been holding it with a death grip, Poseidon didn’t mind. Being a god of immense power, he couldn’t even feel it. But a normal mortal might have their bones crushed.

Despite all that, the sea god was very worried. Was _this_ what it was like? This was horrible. Sally was going through so much pain. It felt less like she was giving birth and more like one of Hades’s twisted tortures in the Fields of Punishment.

Despite being quite literally millions of years old, the lord of the seas was understandably stumped and had no idea what to do. He didn’t think the birth would happen while he was still there. He had planned to leave well before that, but Sally had insisted on just a few more weeks.

“Damn.”, Poseidon cursed. _What should I do?_

Briefly, he considered a dangerous idea. “The child is already matured is it not?”, Poseidon thought out loud. “All that needs to be done is to extract him outside.”. His hands started to glow, and he was about to teleport the child directly outside.

“STOP!!!”, A voice yelled.

Poseidon jumped. No one was supposed to be here. He whirled around, only to be taken aback. The last person he expected to see was a fellow Olympian. And … oh dear.

A goddess of auburn hair and silver eyes stood there with an angry expression.

“What are you doing here?!”, Poseidon pointed at her.

Artemis glared at him with a deadly expression, which would have normally looked comical on a twelve year old, but Poseidon didn’t find it funny. Artemis was his brother’s favorite daughter. If she …

“Were you about to do what I think you were?!”, Artemis shouted, stomping towards him. The ground shook from the force of her footsteps.

“Careful!”, Poseidon shouted back, holding the bed frame so it would not topple over.

“Careful?!”, Artemis shouted back irately. “Me?! You were just about to kill your own son you idiot!”

“What?”

“Have you forgotten that mortal organisms cannot survive direct teleportation?!”

The sea god turned his head away, cursing softly. She was right. In his panic, he had forgotten. But more importantly “What are you doing here, Artemis?”, he asked more politely.

The moon goddess glared at him, but Artemis relented at last. “A stroke of luck. Any other of the gods would have seen nothing, but tonight the full moon is out.”

Poseidon cursed more loudly, seeing she was right.

Artemis still had a frown on her face. “Besides, this is _my_ domain. I cannot ignore a woman going through the pain of birthing. Even if the child is forbidden.”

Poseidon stared at her warily. “So … you’ll help?”

Artemis frowned, not deigning to reply. Her small hands softly rubbed Sally’s stomach, spreading soft silvery energy around her.

The goddess tried not to let surprise show on her face, but it was difficult. _Impossible_. She thought. _What a monstrous amount of_ _power_ _for a mere baby_ _… one would think this is not a demigod, but an Olympian being born._ The idea was ludicrous, but the proof was in front of her.

Putting that thought for later, Artemis focused on the woman. But even the goddess of childbirth was not optimistic. The child was immensely powerful for a demigod baby, and it was clearly taking its toll on the woman, who was only mortal and didn’t have nearly enough strength to support the child. She theorized that Poseidon would have had to been with this woman for all nine months, or else the woman would have died months ago as her baby drained up her strength.

Artemis summoned a cup of nectar, pouring it into the woman’s mouth. Normally that would be disastrous for a mortal, but with a demigod baby in her, it would actually help. Though in this particular case, Artemis doubted much would happen.

Sally Jackson screamed for all the world to hear, and they may have, if anyone else was nearby, but Poseidon had at least cleared out the whole beach. Artemis whispered soothing words. “Ssshh. Relax. I will start to ease the pain now.”

Poseidon watched the goddess apprehensively, but his tense shoulders slightly relaxed when Sally’s screams turned into shuddered sighs of relief as Artemis beamed her with silvery light.

As Sally’s eyes watered in the sheer relief, she breathed softly, feeling an immense relief. “L-Lady Artemis?”

The goddess raised both eyebrows in surprise.

“I-I could hear you both.”

Artemis chuckled almost sadly. “You _are_ a strong woman. Tell me, what is your name?”

“Sally. Sally Jackson.”, the woman said.

Artemis held Sally’s hand, and Poseidon held the other one. “Is the worst of it over?”, Poseidon asked nervously. It hurt to hear Sally screaming like that.

Artemis looked down, shaking her head. “The nectar I gave her is the only reason she is still alive.”

Poseidon frowned. “What?”

For once, the moon goddess looked almost ashamed. This was _her_ domain. And yet …

“I’m sorry uncle. But she won’t make it.”

“What?!”, Poseidon exclaimed. “No no no. That’s … why?”

“Some mortals are not able to bear demigod children and live. And this is a more special case.”

“But Zeus’s–”

“This boy will be far more powerful than Thalia Grace, uncle. You were with Sally for all nine months were you not?”

“… Yes.”

“Then let me tell you this. This woman should have never been able to give birth. She should have died within the first month of her pregnancy itself. This child … it is far too powerful to be sustained by a mortal alone. It was only your presence that allowed her to live this long. But now even that is not enough. Even _my_ added power is _not enough_.”

The sea god was stricken with shock and guilt. He did this. He did this to her. This was a mistake, he should have never–

“I’m tired.”, Sally said softly. “Please don’t talk like I’m not here.”

“Sally.”, Poseidon muttered, touching her cheek. “I’m sorry. I–”

Where she got the energy to chuckle, Poseidon didn’t know. “Oh Poseidon. Don’t you dare take all the credit.”

“Huh?”

Sally smiled sadly. “You never forced me. You never pressured me. This was _my_ choice. But …. I … I don’t want to die.”

Artemis looked downcast, feeling helpless. Wasn’t this _her_ domain? Why? Why couldn’t she save just one mortal? She could fell a thousand monsters but couldn’t even save one woman.

“But–“, Sally continued. “Also I don’t regret it. This … this past year was the best time of my life. I … wouldn’t trade it for anything. All I ask … my Lady … before I die … my son. I want to see–”

“Sshh.”, Artemis quieted her, shining more silver light. “Be still. Save your strength. It is almost done.”

The lord of the seas held Sally’s hand. “Sally. Don’t worry. I’ll arrange something. I’ll ask Hades to–”

“No.”, Sally shook her head.

“Why?”, Poseidon exclaimed. “I can bring you back to life. We can be together.”

Sally sighed, smiling sadly. “I know its selfish. Our son … he will grow up without a mother. But … I can’t. I’m not good enough. He’ll be better off … without me. And anyway … before I met you … I wanted to die.”

“No!”, Poseidon exclaimed, almost shaking her. “You’re wrong. You’ll be the best mother a child could ever ask for! Don’t say that. I’ll arrange something.”

“Alright Sally. One final time.”, Artemis said. “This will hurt more than the others. My magic won’t be able to stop the pain this time.”

And it was with one final push, the world changed.

Artemis stared at the bundle in her arms which she had wrapped in a soft fabric. She held it delicately. “It is over.”

Sally Jackson could feel her end approaching. It had only hastened now that the baby was out. Almost as if her body stubbornly refused to die until her son was safe.

“Waaah!!!”

A cry pierced through the silence. Artemis’s eyes widened as she nearly dropped the child. The ground was rumbling, and she could feel the droplets of water on her skin. Rain.

She turned to the side. The waves were pounding the beach at a dangerous height, and lightning flashed across the skies, the thunder loud enough to be heard for hundreds of miles.

Dark clouds started to replace the night sky, covering the stars, and the air grew colder. The rain came down harder, and Artemis quickly created a dome around them all to keep them dry.

The goddess turned to Poseidon. “Uncle! Stop!”

But the lord of the seas was just as surprised as her. “Its not me!”

“Waaahhh!!!”

The goddess of the moon turned her eyes to the crying newborn demigod, who screamed at an alarming volume. For the first time since Python, Artemis felt a cold chill go down her spine.

The storm grew as the baby cried louder. Lightning flashed, striking outside the dome. When her vision cleared, Artemis could see layers of glass formed on the sand.

Poseidon stared with wide eyes. Impossible. Utterly impossible. Not even he himself was born with such … overwhelming–

“Uncle!”, Artemis shouted. “You need to stop it.”

Poseidon snapped out of his shock, summoning his trident to his hand. Pointing it at the sky, the sea god shot a beam of green energy upward, dispersing the clouds in a spectacular fashion.

Still, Artemis’s shock only grew upon seeing the power Poseidon had to put in to counteract the storm. Unbelievable. What kind of a monster was this child? Only just born, and yet …

Sally was now leaning against the bed’s frame, sitting almost at a forty five degree angle.

Artemis quickly handed the child to her. Hopefully it would stop screaming so much. And it did. Almost immediately, the child quieted, breaking into a chortle.

Sally Jackson knew she didn’t have much time left. But still, she was grateful. Not many people got their last wishes. But she did.

“Thank you, my Lady.”

Artemis, who was still in shock, took a moment to respond. “Huh? Oh. Of course.”

Sally stared down at the bundle in her arms. _Her son_. He had his father’s raven hair. He also had his father’s eyes, sea green miniature oceans. But at least, it looked liked he had her nose, and her cheeks.

“My son.”, Sally smiled. Her son was deathly quiet now, and was looking around curiously ever since his eyes had opened. He stared at Sally, and then suddenly broke into a chortle of laughter, stretching his tiny hands towards her face.

Tears filled her eyes. She had made her peace hadn’t she? She had accepted that she would die. But now … seeing her son. His wide eyes and toothless grin as he reached for her. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to raise her son. Her son.

Poseidon was beside her, supporting her back. One was not a mortal anymore and the other was not an immortal god. Just two parents.

“My Lady.”, Sally asked. “I know its very unreasonable and selfish …”

Artemis blinked. She had stepped back, not wanting to intrude on the couple, but now she approached the woman.

“What is it?”

“I was wondering … after I … pass. I know what its like to grow up alone. Without family. Please … could you–”

The goddess of the moon was frozen in place, stunned by the request. “Why? Why me?”, she asked, her voice shaking.

“Why not?”, Sally simply replied.

Any other goddess might have blasted a mortal for such a … forward request. But Artemis was a paradox. She was a maiden goddess, sworn never to lay with another and never to birth children, but at the same time it was the one thing she craved more than anything. A child. But this was a boy, not a girl. Even so, it didn’t seem to make much of a difference.

“I– I …”

“Don’t worry Sally, I’ll arrange something. I could–”

“And your wife?”, Sally asked. “Would she allow it?”

“N-No.”, Poseidon managed to stammer out. _But still. There has to be something I can do. Allowing Artemis to help with the delivery is one thing. But raising is another matter. After all, she is still Zeus’s daughter. She can’t be trusted_.

Unsure of what she was doing, Artemis slowly took the child from Sally, who smiled. Internally, the goddess was screaming at herself. There were so many things wrong about this. This was a boy child. And what about her hunters? What about the ancient laws?

_Fuck the ancient laws._

_Diana?!_ Artemis thought in surprise, but there was no reply.

The goddess gulped, staring at the curious face of the child, who tilted his head and stared at her cutely. At this, her heart melted, and any resistance she held up was washed away.

Poseidon stared at Artemis and back to Sally. “Sally … is this what you want? Artemis … she does not like males. You know that right?”

At this, the goddess’s temper flared, her face turning gold with anger. “And what are you implying there?! You! You think I would mistreat him or something?! That I would hurt a child?!”

Poseidon was taken aback. _Where did that come from?_

Sally’s smile stretched further. “I can see … that my son … is in good hands. I am happy now … I was scared … to leave … but now its okay. He’ll have another mother.”

“No.”, Artemis refused. “I won’t do it. I’ll raise him, but not as his mother. I won’t take that away from you. I’ll make sure he knows you, Sally. You won’t be replaced.”

Inside of course, Artemis had panicked at the thought of motherhood. She was definitely not a mother. No way. A big sister maybe, she already had Apollo as a younger brother. This child could be another younger brother. He was anyway her cousin.

Sally chuckled, gasping for her last breaths. “I … feel oddly happy about that.”

“Sally.”, Poseidon muttered, holding her hand. There was nothing else he could say. She had made her peace. She was happy. And she was definitely going to a better place. He would at least make sure of that. She deserved Elysium.

Artemis also knelt down to the dying mortal’s level. “What do I call him?”

Sally smiled. With her final breath, she uttered her last words. “His name … is Perseus Jackson.”


	2. Early Years - 1

**The Little King**

The goddess of the hunt was not with her hunt. Artemis felt rather guilty about it. For the past six years she had only sporadically visited her hunters. Yes, the majority of her time was no longer with her hunters, but her new baby brother. Well, not _baby_ , seeing as how six years have passed.

Percy Jackson was growing into a healthy young demigod. He had received the finest food and the greatest care in his upbringing. Of course, with the moon goddess never having to care for a child before, she tended to go overboard. That led to certain complications.

Currently, Artemis sat with her adopted little brother, or rather, her little cousin brother. But brother was shorter, and that described their relationship better.

Instead of the lush forest bungalow they usually stayed in, today they ate dinner the old way; under the stars with a campfire.

"Maaan!", Percy whined, stretching his feet forwards. "Everything hurts. Athena's so mean."

Artemis chuckled slightly. Ah yes, that had been an interesting turn of events. Artemis had never intended to tell anyone about Percy, and certainly not to someone Poseidon did not like at all. But Poseidon was never there, and Artemis really needed help.

At first; nearly six months ago; the stoic wisdom goddess seemed like the worst possible choice to mentor a child. But somehow, they clicked. Artemis could swear that Percy spent more time with Athena than her.

At first, all the boy did was complain. Artemis admitted that she might have spoiled him a little, but Athena had quickly gotten to task. It surprised Artemis. She had thought smart people actually found it difficult to teach, but nevertheless, the wisdom goddess _taught_. And she taught well.

Artemis was very grateful to Athena. The wisdom goddess had quickly set his education straight, something Artemis was embarrassed to admit she messed up. She had forgotten that unlike gods, demigods didn't just _know_ language. At least anything other than ancient Greek. She had been speaking with Percy in ancient Greek for so long that she forgot he didn't know anything else.

Athena had started with various languages, sciences, mathematics. Then she went into more obscure topics. Statecraft, the art of war, management, psychology, political science. Artemis sometimes felt scared for her adopted little brother. The Great Prophecy … if only it never existed.

Artemis shook her thoughts away. Percy had fallen asleep. It _had_ been a rough day for him. The training Athena put him through was grueling, especially for a six year old boy.

Artemis didn't know how long she had been sitting in the same spot, but when the sun had risen enough to brighten the clearing, she was suddenly startled.

"Sister, I would speak with you."

Athena's voice came to her from the nearby tree. Walking over, the moon goddess smiled. "How was he yesterday?"

"Not bad, but he could be so much better. Putting it mildly, he is a spoiled brat. He doesn't know what gifts he has been given, and takes everything too lightly and complains too much. Of all the things Poseidon had to pass on to his son, did he have to pass that as well?"

Artemis chuckled at the irony.

"What?", Athena frowned.

"Nothing.", Artemis smirked. "Seems to me _you're_ the one complaining now."

"Hilarious.", Athena said flatly. "It would appear you have spent too much time around the boy. Let us hope you filter out his more irritating qualities."

"Oh come on.", Artemis grinned. "Are you still angry about that prank? You should have known he would do it. Besides, your hair was fine the next day."

Athena's eyes narrowed. "Forgive me for not recognizing such a trait in the boy. I had been led to believe I was to tutor Poseidon's child, not one of Hermes's irritating spawn."

Artemis sighed. "But why did you wish to speak, sister?"

"It is time."

"No.", Artemis refused. "Have you lost your mind sister? How many times must I say this? He is too young to understand."

Athena glared at the moon goddess. "Sister, do not ever presume to question my mind again. I know precisely what I am suggesting. The boy is not an imbecile like his father. Sooner or later, he is going to question all of this. Will you keep lying to him then?"

Artemis frowned, choosing to stare at the floor instead of Athena's face. "And telling him now will ruin his childhood. Even with all this training, at least he's having _some_ fun."

"What good will fun do if he is not ready for the prophecy?!", Athena snapped. "You know what he will be up against! Do you want him to die?"

"What prophecy?"

_No!_

Artemis's eyes widened. Very slowly, she turned around, only to see Percy sitting upright out of his sleeping bag. The moon goddess turned back to Athena, her eyes blazing. "You couldn't keep your voice any lower?!"

Percy frowned. His big sister was acting very weird. He might only be six, but he wasn't stupid. His big sister always argued with Athena. Usually it was about their training.

"What prophecy?", Percy repeated. "Am I going to die? Like mom?"

"What? No. No no no.", Artemis rushed to him, enveloping him in a hug. "You're not going to die, Percy."

"But Athena said–"

"Forget all that. We were just disagreeing on something. Right Athena?"

Athena sighed. "Right.", she deadpanned.

"No!", Percy stubbornly argued, wriggling away from her grip. He stood up straight, with his arms folded, trying to act imposing; well, trying and failing. "You won't fool me again. This isn't the first time I heard of this prophecy. But something about me right? Right?"

_Damn him and his father's stubbornness._ Artemis thought. _You've really gone and done it now Athena. He won't stop until we tell him the truth._

And it was the truth they would have to tell. Percy had an unnaturally good instinct for catching lies, and besides, Artemis herself was a rather poor liar, despite being such an ancient goddess. But ... not now.

"Percy … this is something we can discuss when you're older."

"Why? Why not now?"

Artemis sighed, looking at Athena for support, but the wisdom goddess stood next to Percy, as if supporting his side … which Artemis supposed she was.

But the moon goddess stood her ground. It was _far_ too soon. "Percy. I have never forced you to do anything you didn't want. But I am telling you this now. It is too early for you to know such things. But I promise on your next birthday, we can discuss this … if you start listening to Athena properly."

Kids can hardly ever focus on one thing, and demigod children were especially known to be easily distracted. "Okay!", Percy exclaimed, running off into the woods. "Big sis I'll go play with Aria!", he shouted as he scampered off.

Athena frowned. "That river nymph. Aria. She knows too much for her own good. Can we trust her to hide the prophecy from Perseus?"

"How can you be sure she even knows?", Artemis countered.

"Oh sister.", Athena sighed with such annoyance only the wisdom goddess could achieve. "Please don't insult my intelligence so. I know that you have been in frequent contact with Poseidon. And I know that all of Atlantis knows the words of the Great Prophecy thanks to gossiping nymphs who cannot keep neither their legs nor their mouths shut. By now, I wouldn't be surprised if Camp Half-Blood already has the exact lines of the prophecy."

Artemis sighed, feeling the weight on her shoulders like an invisible sky. And yet, revealing the prophecy to her little brother would mean transferring all this weight onto his tiny shoulders. He was still so small.

"You had better tell him soon, sister.", Athena added. "It wouldn't do good for him to hear it from someone else. This is no trifling matter. We need to handle this with the utmost care. The world depends on it. _We_ depend on it."

Artemis sighed once again, something she seemed to be doing more often lately. Waiting until Athena flashed away, Artemis allowed herself to mutter the words of the prophecy. To remind herself, that's what she told herself.

_A half-blood of the eldest gods,  
shall reach twenty against all odds.  
Chosen by the eternal crystal's might,  
Under this shall the enemies unite.  
The world consumed in eternal blight,  
Freed only by the Chosen King's light._

Artemis shuddered. Never before had such a prophecy occurred. It was a small wonder that her father had reacted in that way, openly killing Hades's children and yes … even his own. And afterwards, a sacred oath, that none of the brothers break them.

Ironically, her father had been the first to break the oath … but he had _rectified_ that mistake. Jason Grace had been officially adopted by Hera as her champion and son, which effectively excluded him from the prophecy, or at least, her father liked to think so. And Thalia Grace …

Artemis felt her chest tighten. That … was not pleasant to think about. Not even the bloodthirsty Ares had condoned that.

They were lucky that so far Percy had not been noticed. To this day, Artemis could remember that tense meeting. After all, the day Percy was born, there had been a council meeting.

_FLASHBACK_

"Where were you!", Zeus accused. Poseidon and Artemis had been the last to enter the meeting. Although the only one being accused was Poseidon.

Apollo gulped. This might get bad. Uncle P did not look good. And you really did not want to piss off Uncle P when he was like that.

"Where I choose to spend my time is none of your business.", Poseidon retorted, taking his seat. "Now shall we begin or not?"

The king of the gods glared at his brother. "No. You won't dodge this again. You were late for the last two solstice meetings. Tell the truth. You were with a mortal weren't you?!"

Artemis's eyes flickered to Poseidon from where she was sitting. Coincidentally, even the sea god glanced at her and they locked eyes for a moment. The message was clear to her; let me do the talking.

The gods stared at the scene uneasily. All of them were nervous, just waiting for something to happen. Even Ares, who normally encouraged these kind of things, was uncharacteristically quiet. Even he knew the consequences of what might happen.

Luckily for the gods, instead of some sort of threat, an easy smirk came upon the sea god. "Unfortunately for you little brother, I'm not so easy to tempt. I tend to take my oaths rather seriously."

"Cough. Cough."

Poseidon glared at her for a split second, before turning back to Zeus. But Apollo was curiously staring at his sister.

Bzzt.

Slightly surprised as to who was contacting her, Artemis discreetly took out her special phone, personally made by Hephaestus. There was one message. Apollo.

_Sup Arty. Care to share?_

Artemis frowned, typing back.

_Nothing to share. Why?_

_Dunno, you and Uncle P arrived at the same time. Should I be worrying?_

Artemis glared at her brother, before furiously typing on her phone.

_If you are implying what I think you are, I swear to Chaos I will turn your throat into that harp you love so much._

She took a small pleasure in seeing Apollo gulp in fear.

_Okay jeez. Relax. Just kidding. Besides, you look twelve. Uncle P doesn't swing that way._

Artemis rolled her eyes. Poseidon was many things, some of which she didn't like, but even he had a line he did not cross. Unlike her father.

Zeus stared at his brother suspiciously. "Fine. Then explain those thunderstorms a few hours back."

"Bored."

"What?", Zeus frowned.

"I was bored. Can we get on with this meeting?"

The lord of the skies was fuming throughout the meeting, and the gods were eager to flash away as soon as possible.

Artemis herself had appeared in one of her favorite locations. The Amazon Rainforest. Beside her, Apollo sighed. The usually cheery sun god ran a hand through his blond hair. "Father is getting worse every time I see him."

Artemis didn't reply, crouching with her bow drawn out. Apollo followed behind her, though his running commentary continued.

"Every time I set foot in that cursed room, I wonder if one of us is going to die."

If the most optimistic god was feeling this way, then it was telling just how tense things were. Oh how she wished she could reassure her brother that everything was fine. But she couldn't. She could be wrong. Poseidon's son might not be the one. It would have to be later.

"Life sucks Apollo.", Artemis muttered. "Get used to it. Now stay quiet and let me hunt."

Apollo sighed once again, taking out his own bow. "I'll join in then. Got nothing to do."

FLASHBACK END

Artemis really did want to tell Apollo. The sun god rarely smiled nowadays. She could understand why. Olympus used to be their home. Now most Olympians stayed as far away as possible. As much as Artemis didn't like giving credit to a male, Uncle Poseidon was the only reason there was any semblance of freedom in the council. Sometimes she felt bad that he had practically abandoned his own kingdom of Atlantis in order to make sure Olympus ran smoothly. At the moment, Triton was the de facto King of Atlantis.

But it was best not to dwell on such matters. She should follow her own advice. _Life sucks. Get used to it._

* * *

Percy had always been active. From the time he could remember, running around and training with Athena were his most favorite things to do, after swimming of course. Nothing beats water.

Of course, he would never tell Athena that. Nuh uh. She already teased him for every small thing. So what if he didn't know how to tie his shoes. It wasn't fair that she made that annoying smirk every time. The demigod wanted to yell and punch her every time she made that face. But she would easily dodge it like she did every time.

The back of his mind was filled with conflicting thoughts. He really had wanted to know more about that prophecy thing, but big sis was probably right like she usually was. Besides, Athena _always_ exaggerated stuff.

Now, Percy made his way through the forest, passing their bungalow where he and big sis lived. It was so nice and big and warm. All the floor was smooth wood and the bed was so big he could get lost in it. And big sis even let him have his own TV in his room with a game console.

Athena was more like a mom. So strict every time and she never allowed him to play anything. Always study study study. And homework. Oh gods!

The only good part was that Athena trained him to fight. That he liked. It was so fun jumping around being able to do stuff just like the video games he played. Once he even did the same move as the character, but Athena instantly noticed it and scolded him so much that day.

Percy literally bounced towards the water. It was this large lake in the middle of the forest. Big sis said that his father was the one who put it there. Percy loved it. It was so big and nice with so much water and so many nymphs. They were all pretty like his big sis, but only one of them was his friend. The others were so formal and annoying. They kept calling him 'Your Majesty'. Didn't they get that his father was the one who was King of Atlantis?

But sometimes when he came to the lake, he would even be able to talk to his father. The strongest god of all times! Percy thought it was so cool that his father was Poseidon. And his father even brought him all these things whenever he came.

And it looked like today would be one of those days.

"Dad!", Percy exclaimed, running towards him.

Indeed, the lord of the seas was dressed in casual clothing with his trusty trident nowhere to be seen. Of course, he could call it back to him within a nanosecond if he wished.

Poseidon's weary face almost seemed to grow younger and the tension vanished as he swooped his son from the ground, twirling him once and tossing him into the lake.

"Aaah!", Percy wailed in frustration as his head poked out of the water.

Poseidon chuckled. "Come on son, you can't expect me to be taken by surprise after you loudly announce your arrival. What has that bookworm been teaching you?"

The young demigod walked out of the lake, drying himself in seconds. Poseidon smiled. "Good. I see you've improved yourself."

"Oh yeah! Dad, look at this. Athena teached me how to do this yesterday!"

Poseidon cringed internally, glancing around. Luckily there was no pesky wisdom goddess to go on a rant.

Splash!

The sea god stared in surprise. "Well well, it looks like you improved a lot more than I thought, son."

The young demigod had held out a hand over the lake water, and formed a trident out of pure water. The weapon still looked watery and it even dripped slightly.

Deciding to show off slightly, Poseidon held his own hand out and a perfect water replica of his actual trident appeared. The water trident was firm and solid, and didn't even look like water from a glance. The details on the trident were perfectly formed right down to the tiny engravings on the handle. Ancient enchantments. Though they were just for show on this water trident, his real trident was another beast entirely.

"Wow!", Percy exclaimed, mouth agape. "So. Cool!". His father really was the best. That trident looked so epic. It looked even more epic than the weapons in video games.

Poseidon chuckled. Though immature yet still, his son was growing. And growing strong indeed. He had been very apprehensive of Athena tutoring him, but whatever her faults, the wisdom goddess didn't treat Percy differently just because she didn't like his father. She was almost annoyingly rational that way.

"Now son, I'll be busy for a while. Your sister and I need to talk."

"About what?", Percy asked with a childish suspicion.

Poseidon laughed, messing his hair and earning a 'Hey!' from the boy. "Adult stuff."

"Ew."

"Exactly. Now go play with your friend."

Leaving his son to his own devices, the lord of the seas made his way to the large bungalow. Inside, he found Artemis and Athena already seated at a round wooden table. Artemis was sipping a very creamy chocolate drink that probably had enough sugar to kill mortals. Athena on the other hand looked like she was in a business meeting.

Sitting down, Poseidon sighed. "Any luck?", he asked, getting straight to the point.

Athena shook her head. "No one can approach the crystal. I could feel my energy draining if I got too close, even with the extra precautions you gave me. We cannot move it from the mountain."

Poseidon sighed again. "Then it would mean …".

"Yes.", Athena confirmed. "It is most likely that only the Chosen King is allowed to approach. This is why I wished to let Perseus into the loop as well. The sooner he learns all this the better."

Poseidon shook his head. "Sorry, but I'll have to agree with Artemis on this one. Percy really is too young. I simply don't believe he is ready to handle the weight of that responsibility."

Athena sighed. "You may be right, but I believe that letting him into the loop will be what makes him responsible and ready. Right now, he doesn't understand anything. He doesn't understand why I am pushing him so much. And he does not take his studies seriously. His combat training is better, but even that is more of a hobby for him. Letting him know might be for the better."

Poseidon sighed. "At least give him some time Athena. You've barely been training him for six months. Let a year pass. Perhaps on his next birthday. It would be best if all three of us were there to reveal the truth to him."

"For the record,", Artemis said, "I still don't like any of this. He's just a child."

"Thalia Grace was just a child too.", Athena said softly. "And she died screaming, raped and then eaten alive by monsters that father sent. I would rather sacrifice Perseus's childhood than his life."

Poseidon's jaw tightened. He never had a fondness for either of his brother's children ... but even he would have never done such a thing. None of them would have. That accursed prophecy. It had changed his brother. Twisted him into this monster he could hardly recognize. Even at his lowest point, he had thought his brother had always loved his children. But his love for his power was far more. It always was. Poseidon thought back to all those ages ago. Gaia had warned him, and he didn't listen.

Perhaps more disturbed was Artemis. She should have pressured the girl more to join the hunt while she had the chance. Instead, she had let Thalia make her own choice. 

"Another thing.", Athena added. "I've been thinking about this for a while. When he will have completed all that I need him to, Perseus should not stay here. It would be wise to hide him with the Romans, as cursed as they are."

"Why?", Artemis frowned.

"Father is paranoid about either Poseidon's or Hades's children just popping up. But he would never look into the Roman camp since he would never expect a child of Neptune there considering how … irrelevant he is there."

"Oi!", Poseidon exclaimed. "You're even more irrelevant than I am in the Roman Camp."

The wisdom goddess scowled. "Well he is your son, not mine, so I believe your argument is pointless. Anyway, it is not uncommon to have unclaimed demigods, even more so in the Roman Camp. Perseus would have to be instructed never to use his water powers of course, but I'm sure he can get by without them … perhaps I should have Hephaestus make a device to seal his powers, just in case."

"Aren't you thinking too far ahead?"

"You're not thinking far ahead enough.", Athena countered. "Honestly, I don't know what the two of you would have done by yourselves. At least Artemis had the common sense to let me into the loop."

Poseidon rolled his eyes at that sheer ego. "Whatever. I need to get back. Need to make sure your father doesn't find another godling to kill or rape or whatever."

In a flash of golden light, Poseidon disappeared from the room, leaving the scent of the sea breeze.

Athena stood too, making Artemis raise an eyebrow. "Where are you going?"

The wisdom goddess let out a rare smile. "Its already nine in the morning Artemis. Time for His Majesty's combat training."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. I can tell you guys must be incredibly confused. Yes, I have taken canon and dumped it in the trashcan. Things are not the same at all. This IS an AU after all.
> 
> Firstly, Great Prophecy is different. I hope you all don't terribly mind. Even though it is different, it is still alarming enough to Zeus that he calls for swearing that sacred oath and he still tries to kill Nico and Bianca. So all the pre-canon stuff is more or less unchanged.
> 
> Zeus definitely seems OOC right? Well, that's mostly due to the circumstances. The canon Great Prophecy was something that affected all of Olympus. So whatever Zeus did, it was 'for the good of Olympus'. But this is different. Imagine a prophecy that pretty much says he is going to be dethroned by a demigod. On top of all this, he knows that most gods would LOVE to see him knocked off his throne. These factors combine to give rise to an extremely paranoid Zeus, almost to the point of insanity. He's becoming like Gollum from LOTR. Not physically but mentally. The throne, the position of king is like the One Ring for him. He will do ANYTHING to keep it, including murdering his own daughter in such a horrific fashion.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a sudden idea that struck me. This story is different from my others in the sense that I already know the ending part of the story. And I really really want to write that. So I've decided to start this story. Its essentially a full rewrite of the series. So it will be pretty long. Like a lot. 
> 
> Please review, it helps more than you think.


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